La Crosse Community Foundation > News > Couleecap, Inc. releases its latest Community Concerns Paper – Claiming an Education: An Act of Courage, Hope and Tenacity for Low-Income Students

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Couleecap, Inc. releases its latest Community Concerns Paper – Claiming an Education: An Act of Courage, Hope and Tenacity for Low-Income Students

May 29, 2018

The last Couleecap Community Concerns paper focused on the presentation of childhood poverty in our area schools. To build on that discussion, Couleecap asked Andrea Hansen from the Self-Sufficiency Program at UWL to share her experience working with low-income, single parents who have a dream of attending college.

Most Self-Sufficiency Program participants are women and single parents with two children. Almost all participants struggle with low-wage work, instability in hours and schedules, few opportunities for advancement, and inadequate and expensive childcare.

Nationally, only a quarter of single parents in college complete their degrees within six years of starting. In SSP at UWL…… When low-income single mother achieve a college degree, their children benefit TWICE – first from their mother’s high earning power, and second from witnessing their mother’s success in breaking through the barriers to access higher education.

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